www.zerohedge.com By Tyler Durden
On Tuesday Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that Russian peacekeeping forces which began entering the restive country late last week will initiate departure in merely two days.
“The main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed,” Tokayev informed Kazakhstan’s parliament. “In two days’ time, a phased withdrawal of the CSTO united peacekeeping contingent will begin. The withdrawal process of the contingent will take no more than 10 days,” he added.
Currently an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Russian troops are in the country which shares a lengthy border with the Russian Federation, on a security mission to help restore order after a week of deadly rioting and clashes with Kazakh police, after last week the regional Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) authorized the mission. International sources indicated the Russians sent about 250 pieces of military hardware as well. Belarusian troops and other smaller contingents of CSTO forces were also part of the mission.
